John the Fearless

John II "the Fearless" of Burgundy (28 May 1371-10 September 1419) was the Duke of Burgundy from 27 April 1404 to 10 September 1419, succeeding Philip the Bold and preceding Philip the Good.

Biography
John was the son of Philip the Bold and Countess Margaret III of Flanders and was from the Catholic French House of Valois, being the first cousin of King Charles VI of France. He was originally supposed to marry the daughter of King Charles V of France, but he later cancelled the marriage and John married Margaret of Bavaria to consolidate the Duchy of Burgundy's position in the Low Countries. In 1396 he fought at the Battle of Nicopolis as a knight in the French crusader army, and he was nicknamed "the Fearless" for his valor in the battle. In 1404 he succeeded his father as Duke of Burgundy, and as King Charles VI's mental health deteriorated, John's Burgundian faction resisted Louis of Orleans' Armagnac faction for the regency of France. In 1407, Louis was stabbed to death by fifteen masked thugs in Paris on the orders of John. John was supported by the Parisian public and admitted his role in the murder, sparking a civil war between France and Burgundy that lasted until 1477. Dauphin Charles (the future Charles VII of France) started a war with him, and in 1418 John took Paris. John and Charles agreed to arrange a peace meeting, but on 10 September 1419 he was assassinated by Charles' companions on the Montereau bridge, leading to his successor Philip the Good allying with the Kingdom of England.